West Shore RCMP shut down the Malahat for just under an hour last Wednesday afternoon, in part out of concerns that toxic materials had been disturbed.
At about 3:30 p.m., a truck crashed into the centre median at what is commonly referred to as "suicide corner."
The truck was headed southbound towards Victoria when the driver lost control due to what RCMP would only describe as a “medical issue.”
The crash happened on a corner near the south end of Goldstream Park.
The driver apparently lost consciousness and does not remember crashing. When he came to, his truck was on top of a concrete "no-post" barrier in the centre of the highway.
The driver woke up lying on the truck's seat at an angle. Another motorist opened the truck door and the man was still lying there. Aside from being shaken up by the collision, the driver had no major injuries, police reported.
Once the vehicle was removed, a representative of the company that maintains the road was on site, warning RCMP that the destroyed median could contain asbestos. The barriers are designed to break apart to absorb some of the impact from a collision. Older types, such as the one the truck crashed into, sometimes contained the toxic material.
The highway stayed closed until the RCMP determined there was no asbestos.
kwells@goldstreamgazette.com